Oregon

Best, Worst, Most Likely Scenarios for Oregon Football

Published

2 hours ago

August 6, 2024

Best, Worst, Most Likely Scenarios for Oregon Football

Trey Mcnutt Commits To Oregon

As fans begin to sense football season in the air, it’s easy to start imagining both how well the upcoming year could go and, alternatively, how poorly.

Today I’ll go through the best, worst, and most likely scenarios for how Oregon Football’s season will turn out in 2024.

Worst-case scenario:

A disaster season for the Ducks would likely involve losses to Ohio State, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

Injury is obviously the easiest way for a team to have its worst-case season but Oregon feels as injury-resistant as a team can be.

Whereas a quarterback injury would tank the vast majority of teams’ seasons, the Ducks would be able to turn to transfer Dante Moore who figures to at least be able to provide solid quarterback play in Oregon’s offense while he develops.

Other means of the Ducks hitting their floor could involve a less-than optimal fit for transfer cornerbacks Jabbar Muhammad and Kam Alexander.

Defensive tackles Derrick Harmon and Jamaree Caldwell not panning out could lead to a lack of run-stopping ability for Oregon which will be essential in the Big Ten Conference.

As always, a litany of offensive line injuries would also force Oregon to play more sideline-to-sideline which will be tougher in the Big Ten than it was in the Pac-12 Conference.

With all of this being said, I don’t see a way Oregon goes any worse than 9-3 this year.

Best-case scenario:

Picture this, if you will;

Dillon Gabriel is a seamless fit in Oregon’s offense and torches defenses with primarily short and intermediate passes to Tez Johnson and Evan Stewart.

Jordan James, Noah Whittington, and Jay Harris balance out the offense by gashing opponents on the ground behind high-level offensive line play.

Defensive line transfers and edge rusher development produce a staunch front that neither surrenders easy rushing yardage nor gives quarterbacks adequate time to throw.

Finally, Oregon’s oft-maligned secondary rounds into form behind an influx of talent in the transfer portal and returners like Jahlil Florence, Dontae Manning, and Daylen Austin developing into a highly trustable second line of cornerbacks.

If you think of this team how I do, none of this sounds unreasonable, even all at once.

I don’t think there’s a ceiling on how good this Oregon team can be.

If everything comes together, I can absolutely see the Ducks putting together an undefeated regular season.

From there, anything is possible as making it through the regular season unscathed likely means this is one of, if not the best team in the country.

Realistic scenario:

While it’s nice to think that everything will mesh perfectly for Oregon Football this year, it’s highly likely that one facet of the team will come up short of expectations.

Conversely, there will probably be a unit on this roster that’s even better than fans anticipate.

In practice, I think Oregon will drop a game to one of Ohio State, Michigan, or Wisconsin and finish the regular season 11-1.

From here, all signs point to the Ducks heading to Indianapolis for a rematch with Ohio State for the Big Ten Championship with a first-round playoff bye on the line.

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Oregon

Georgia leads Ohio State and Oregon in preseason coaches poll

Published

9 hours ago

August 5, 2024

Press Room

Georgia leads Ohio State and Oregon in preseason coaches poll

Georgia is the top team in the coaches poll ahead of the 2024 college football season.

The annual USA Today Top 25 was released on Monday and the Bulldogs got 46 of a possible 55 first-place votes ahead of Ohio State, Oregon, Texas and Alabama.

The Buckeyes were the clear second-place team in the poll and got seven first-place votes. The other two first-place votes went to the Longhorns and Michigan, the defending national champions.

Georgia went undefeated during the regular season in 2023 before losing to Alabama in the SEC championship game. That loss dropped the Bulldogs out of the College Football Playoff and they annihilated Florida State in the Orange Bowl to end the season.

The Bulldogs bring back QB Carson Beck after his fantastic first season as a starter. He’s a preseason Heisman favorite and the defense will likely be phenomenal once again.

Georgia does have a very tough schedule, however. The Bulldogs have road games against three teams in the top 10 of the coaches poll. UGA visits Alabama on Sept. 28, Texas on Oct. 19 and No. 6 Ole Miss on Nov. 9. Georgia also opens the season against No. 14 Clemson.

After Ole Miss, the top 10 is rounded out by Notre Dame, Michigan, Penn State and Florida State. Overall, the SEC has six of the top 12 teams in the coaches poll and has nine overall. Missouri is at No. 11 ahead of LSU, while Tennessee is at No. 15, Oklahoma is at No. 16 and Texas A&M is at No. 20.

Like the SEC, the expanded Big Ten has four teams in the top 10, but you have to go all the way down to USC at No. 23 for the next team from the conference.

Utah is the top Big 12 team in the poll at No. 13. The Big 12 has five teams in the top 25 while the ACC has four.

No team from outside the four power conferences (not counting Notre Dame) made the preseason top 25. Memphis was the Group of Five team that got the most votes and ranked fifth among the teams that didn’t make the poll.

2024 preseason coaches poll

1. Georgia

2. Ohio State

3. Oregon

4. Texas

5. Alabama

6. Ole Miss

7. Notre Dame

8. Michigan

9. Penn State

10. Florida State

11. Missouri

12. LSU

13. Utah

14. Clemson

15. Tennessee

16. Oklahoma

17. Kansas State

18. Oklahoma State

19. Miami

20. Texas A&M

21. Arizona

22. North Carolina State

23. USC

24. Kansas

25. Iowa

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Oregon

Have The Oregon Ducks, Dana Altman Found Their Newest Sharp Shooter?

Published

16 hours ago

August 5, 2024

Press Room

Have The Oregon Ducks, Dana Altman Found Their Newest Sharp Shooter?

Every college basketball program in the nation wants a deep threat like Winters Grady.

The 6-7 sharpshooter comes from nearby Lake Oswego, Oregon, but plays his high school ball at Prolific Prep in Napa, California. Grady can shoot moving away from the ball or simply set for a catch-and-shoot opportunity, just a very pure scorer out on the wing.

Jun 24, 2023; Glendale, AZ, USA; Tualatin player Winters Grady (2) during the Section 7 high school boys tournament at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

He had a great summer playing for Jalen Green Elite on the Adidas circuit. At the 3SSB Session III, Grady averaged 22.8 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game.

The nine schools that Grady has narrowed it down to are Oregon, Michigan, Oklahoma, Creighton, Iowa, New Mexico, USC, Arizona State, and Colorado. He did take a couple unofficial visits to Oregon in the past and has an official visit back to Eugene scheduled on Oct.12.

“Things are good there now. They’ve definitely picked up their recruitment here recently. We haven’t discussed too deep into a lot of things. I know they think I can score the ball and they kind of view me as more of a shooter, but someone who can score the ball. A lot of the high-major players from Oregon typically go to Oregon, but I wouldn’t say there is pressure for me. I played at Prolific this past season, so I’m not full-time Oregon anymore… I work out with guys like Mookie Cook, Jackson Shelstad, and Payton Pritchard in the summer. So I have a well-established relationship with them.”
– Winters Grady on Oregon

Grady is going through the whole true recruiting process and has five other trips to other schools planned out besides with the Ducks.

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Oregon

Durkee Fire 80% contained at 295K acres in eastern Oregon

Published

24 hours ago

August 5, 2024

Press Room

Durkee Fire 80% contained at 295K acres in eastern Oregon

BAKER COUNTY Ore. (KPTV) – Firefighters continued to make progress on the Durkee Fire this weekend – one of the biggest wildfires in the country and in Oregon.

As of Sunday, the fire in eastern Oregon is 80% contained and is at nearly 295,000 acres. That is about 1,000 more acres than was reported Saturday, because officials said they have been able to better map the fire since last estimate.

SEE ALSO:

A two-alarm fire in a southeast Portland apartment building displaced 15 people early on Saturday, according to Portland Fire & Rescue.

Officials are using infrared maps to help identify remaining hot spots and to make sure the flames are staying within containment lines.

The National Interagency Fire Center reported that Oregon has by far the most acres burned in the country this year, and is currently sitting at more than 950,000 acres.

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